Crew announces complete broadcast schedule for 2013 season

COLUMBUS – The Columbus Crew announced its 2013 Major League Soccer broadcast schedule on Wednesday, with television partner FOX Sports Ohio carrying 32 matches throughout the regular season. The area’s premier regional sports network, bringing the Crew to more than five million homes across Ohio, Kentucky, western Pennsylvania, western New York and West Virginia, FOX Sports Ohio will carry all but two of the club’s English-language broadcasts. Dwight Burgess, the Original Voice of the Crew, returns to the booth to call all the play-by-play action for the Black & Gold. Burgess is joined by former Crew player and club icon Duncan Oughton, who returns to his analyst role. Ashleigh Ignelzi rounds-out the FOX Sports Ohio team as the network’s sideline reporter.

Three matches are being showcased on national television throughout the season. The Crew’s road contest against D.C. United on March 23, along with the team’s home tilt against the New York Red Bulls on May 4, are being carried by NBC Sports Network. The Black & Gold’s road fixture against the New York Red Bulls on May 26 is available nationally via newly branded Spanish-language network UniMas, with FOX Sports Ohio carrying the English-language rights for that contest.

610 AM WTVN returns as the club’s English-language radio partner in 2013, with the network carrying the club’s complete MLS regular season schedule. Neil Sika resumes his play-by-play role alongside analyst and Ohio State Men’s Head Soccer Coach John Bluem.

103.1 FM La Mega, the club’s Spanish-language radio partner, will also carry the club’s complete 2013 slate of matches. Carlos Cordova calls the games with Benny Pietrangelo serving as the network’s analyst. Juan Valladares is set to provide additional commentary from the sideline.

The Crew’s weekly 60-minute feature show, Inside the Crew, returns in 2013 on 1460 AM ESPN Radio. Each week Neil Sika and Duncan Oughton provide reaction and analysis surrounding the club, complete with interviews from current Crew personnel and opposing players and coaches. Inside the Crew airs ahead of all Crew regular season matches on Saturdays at 9:00 a.m. ET.

The Crew opens its 2013 MLS campaign on the road Saturday, March 2, against Chivas USA. The team then heads to the Pacific Northwest to face Vancouver Whitecaps FC on March 9 before opening Crew Stadium for the new season on March 16 against the defending MLS Supporters’ Shield winners, the San Jose Earthquakes.

The home portion of the Black & Gold’s schedule includes 14 Saturday games at Crew Stadium, complimented by two Sunday matches and one Wednesday contest in Columbus. Thirteen of the club’s home matches are against Eastern Conference opponents, including two contests each against longstanding rivals Chicago, New York and New England. The Crew finishes the regular season on Sunday, October 27 at Crew Stadium against the Revolution.

Each of the League’s 19 clubs will play 34 matches – 17 at home and 17 away – over the course of 35 weeks. Within each conference, all clubs play the same number of in-conference and out-of-conference games.

The Crew plays seven of the other nine teams in the Eastern Conference three times each. Aside from hosting Chicago, New York, New England and Houston twice at home, the club faces Toronto FC, Sporting Kansas City and Montreal twice on the road. Just as in 2012, the Crew hosts the three-match Trillium Cup finale with Toronto FC, this time on August 17.

Single-game tickets for all Crew regular season home games are now on-sale. Prices range from $23 to $48. Tickets for groups of 20 or more are also available, with discounted prices over individual game tickets. Crew season ticket plans start at just $15 per game, and feature significant savings over single-game pricing, along with an exclusive benefits package. Fans can also receive comprehensive team coverage and ticketing benefits by becoming a member of the Crew Soccer Nation Fan Club. Tickets are available by calling 614-447-CREW, and online via TheCrew.com and Ticketmaster.com.